In EnglishSome pictures from my garden.My japanese indigoes (Persicaria tinctoria) grow inside the greenhouse and some also outside in a bed just beside the greenhouse, which is the warmest place. Japanese indigo needs a lot of warmth, this summer it hasn't grown quite so well as last year, because of the cold nights in June, but now it is catching up. Picture of it below taken last week-end.In the bed by the greenhouse I also grow some herbs and salad.The path leads me behind the greenhouse to the woad beds.

I planted my woad outside in the beginning of June and the picture above is of them in mid June. The picture below is how they look now, I think they have grown really well. They are in a raised bed in quite heavy soil, and composted sheep manure was added to the bed in spring, the same amount I used when I grow cabbages, so quite a lot. The bed is covered by hay to keep the moisture and prevent weeds, only an occasional thistle has grown through:)

The plants are perhaps planted too close to each other (25cm apart), what do you think?

In the front there is woad (Isatis tinctoria) and behind it chinese woad (Isatis inidgotica) which has much greyer leaves. Do you think my woad looks now ready for harvest?

My roses flowered also, I guess you can see I like old pink colors in roses:)

Above an old rose found growing in Helsinki and it has now been identified as 'Blush Damask', very hardy and scented rose. The rose in the picture below is one I have grown from seed, sown six years ago and now it is almost two meters high and had very nice flowers in early July

12 comments:

Your woad post is very interesting. Thank you. I grew woad and had some reasonably successful dyeing experiences on cotton fabric.....a tad bit light but still pretty. I want to try your madder recipe soon. I have not been very successful in getting red.....some interesting browns though......

What wonderful pictures of your glorious garden! I am so envious of your paeonies! Your dye plants are certainly flourishing & the woad looks very vigorous. I'm impressed by the orderly way you grow your plants. I'm afraid mine are rarely in rows!

You have a beautiful garden. Your woad does look ready to harvest. There is more blue by weight of leaves in younger woad leaves. They will regrow within 3 - 4 weeks if you have warm weather, so there is no danger of harvesting too soon.

Last year, we took our first harvest about two weeks too soon and had a lower yield in one plot compared to the other plots that we harvested later. However, that plot had an increased yield the second time the leaves were harvested -- about a month later.

Don't be afraid that you will lose your hard work. It will be good.Cheers,Chris DL

Thanks for sharing photos of your garden. I agree with Chris, that your woad looks harvestable. Last year, I was able to get three good harvests off my woad plants; they grew back so vigorously! You may get bigger plants if they were growing further apart, but I tend to plant mine rather close, as I lack the space to really spread them out. I have one weld plant, growing out on it's own, I've really been enjoying..it's grown quite large, and as it goes to seed, all the flower spikes are starting to swirl around the plant like a giant, 3-d helix.

Thanks for the heads-up with woad:)I'll try it this week-end. I think my japanese indigo inside in the green house looks almost ready,too, but the ones growing outsíde need more time.It is easy to make the garden look good in the pictures, I'm glad you can't see all the things I didn't photograph:) Grass clippings and old hay keep the weeds from growing quite efficiently as well as keep the moisture so that helps me a lot, even though that might not look so tidy. Peonies are my new love, together with geraniums and primroses, my Primula florindaes are just starting to flower in the shade, and even though they are yellow I like them so much:)

Thanks Madeline, Jean and Helen.It is always a surprise when you grow roses from seed, but sometimes very nice ones can come out of it:)

I have had very bad time with my woad last week-end (I almost gave up on them!)and only today managed to finally get good blue from them. I didn't think it would be so difficult, but of course anything is easy when you know how to do it:)Posting about it won't be until next week-end, I have couple of busy days ahead.

Hi Leena! Your garden is so beautiful! I went looking for your blush damask rose...I would like to plant one in my garden. Is this the same as yours:http://www.roguevalleyroses.com/product_info.php?products_id=42

Hi Kate, thanks:)I don't think that is the same rose, it says that it is bourbon rose and repeat blooming and my 'Blush Damask' blooms only once and is damacena rose. I think this is the same http://www.ashdownroses.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1392even though it doesn't look exactly same. The bourbon rose in your link looks really nice and as it is repeat blooming, it would be even better:)I have found theses pages http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/index.php helpful.

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WHY USE NATURAL DYES

"We can keep the knowledge of their use alive, as well as regaining for ourselves a vital contact with the natural world. The ability to correctly identify the plants needed, to understand their growth stages sufficiently well to be able to obtain the greatest dye, offer both challenge and pleasure."

We sell our yarns, kits and other things at the market Kauppatori in Helsinki, several days a week during the summer season. I will write here in the beginning of each week which days we will be at the market. This week my husband will be at the market on Monday August 3rd, Thursday August 6th, Friday August 7th and Saturday August 8th.